Eurostat Launches New Tourism Satellite Accounts Webpage for Europe

Eurostat has unveiled a new webpage dedicated to tourism satellite accounts (TSA) in Europe, as part of its experimental statistics section.

The newly released experimental data offers indicators that evaluate the economic contribution of the tourism sector. This complements existing information from the accommodation sector and household surveys, which primarily focus on visitor movements within and between countries.

Tourism satellite accounts compile crucial economic data specific to the tourism industry, including metrics such as gross value added and employment generated by tourism activities in European economies. These accounts provide insights into the macroeconomic significance of tourism and its effects on the economy and labor market. The term "satellite accounts" is used because TSA employs the national accounts system to identify and measure the tourism sector's macroeconomic impact.

The TSA framework was jointly developed by the United Nations (UN), the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Eurostat, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). However, its implementation varies significantly across Europe. While some countries regularly publish TSA as an official statistical product, others are still developing their systems. Consequently, the European aggregate is currently categorized as experimental.

Photo Attribution: Maurice Flesier, World’s Top 10 Tourism Destinations, CC BY-SA 3.0